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| HOME | WESTERN Author: A through M | N through Z | CRIME and MYSTERY | ROMANCE | CHRISTIAN | SCI-FI | FANTASY | HORROR |
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| Oke, Janette | The Drums of Change |
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Publication Date |
1996 |
| Number of Pages | 235 |
| Setting | Canadian prairie |
| Time Period | 1874-1890 |
| Series | Women of the West |
| Plot Summary | Follows the life of Running Fawn, a Blackfoot Indian, as she matures and as her tribe faces problems caused by the growth of the west. A quick read that does not skimp on description of the West and personalizes the struggles Native Americans lived through, including disease, missionary schools and reservation life. Details the spiritual decisions Running Fawn and her tribe make as they host a white missionary and become disenchanted with the old way of life. Includes some romantic overtones but does not focus on the love interest. |
| Appeal | Female coming-of-age story in Canada's West. Romantic themes. Christian themes. |
| Notes | The role whites play in the problems facing the tribe is underplayed. Sympathetic/ friendly relationships between tribal leaders and white missionaries. |
| Reviewer/Date | Stephanie Deininger 6/11/2000 |
| Richter, Conrad | Sea of Grass |
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Publication Date |
1937 |
| Number of Pages | 149 |
| Setting | West Texas |
| Time Period | Late 19th Century |
| Similar Authors | Willa Cather/A Lost Lady. Gustave Flaubert/Madame Bovary. Dorothy Scarborough/The Wind. |
| Plot Summary | Lutie Cameron, a charming, high-spirited and cultivated woman from St. Louis, comes to West Texas to marry wealthy, rugged cattle rancher, James Brewton. Unable to tolerate the lack of culture on the prairie, and after having three children and an affair, Lutie disappears, abandoning her family. Seen through the eyes of Brewton's nephew, Hal, and spanning more than two decades, the story is woven within the tapestry of the rapidly changing western prairie, as Eastern settlers, farmers known as "nesters", immigrate, exploit, and change the frontier forever. |
| Appeal | Woman trapped in a marriage to an older man, has calamitous affair. Decline of the American frontier/ Settling of the American Southwest. Pioneering cattle ranchers versus emigrant farmers. Woman comes west to marry a cattleman. Frontier wife, unable to cope with roughness of the prairie. Settling of the prairie from the point of view of the cattlemen. |
| Notes | Literary qualities/ Rich with details of day to day life on the prairie, vivid prose. |
| Reviewer/Date | Pamela Richards 6/15/2000 |
| Robson, Lucia St. Clair | Ride the Wind: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker and the Last Days of the Comanche |
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Publication Date |
1982 |
| Number of Pages | 562 |
| Setting | Texas and Oklahoma |
| Time Period | 1836-1875 |
| Plot Summary | A romantic, epic story based on the actual life of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white woman who was taken from her family’s settlement by Comanche Indians on the Staked Plains. Naduah, as she was named, grew up with the Comanche, married one of their leaders, fought beside them, and became one of “The People.” |
| Appeal | Densely written with much detail of the Comanche way of life on The Frontier. Thought provoking saga that contrasts the cultural and political views of Texans with those of the Comanche. |
| Notes | Graphic depictions of rape and violence, cannibalism |
| Reviewer/Date | Juliana Punt 6/15/00 |
| Robson, Lucia St. Clair | Ride the Wind: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker and the Last Days of the Comanche |
| Publication Date | 1982 |
| Number of Pages | 595 |
| Setting | The Texas frontier |
| Time Period | The mid-to-late 1800's |
| Similar Authors/Titles: | Cynthia Haselhof/Satanta's Woman |
| Plot Summary | A fictionalized account of the life of Cynthia Ann Parker. Captured by Comanche Indians at the age of nine, Cynthia spends over twenty years with the tribe, learning their ways and customs. She is given the name Naduah. She eventually marries the Comanche leader and has three children with him. Ultimately, at the age of 33 years, she is returned against her will to her Parker relatives after her tribe has been decimated by U.S. soldiers. |
| Appeal | A strong heroine's emotional tale of survival. An epic tale of adventure and heroism. Depicts Native American way of life. |
| Notes | Scenes of graphic violence, torture and cannibalism. |
| Reviewer/Date | Kara Nielsen 6/15/00 |
| Schaefer, Jack | Shane |
|
Publication Date |
1954 |
| Number of Pages | 214 |
| Setting | "The Territory," perhaps Wyoming, since Cheyenne is mentioned frequently |
| Time Period | Late 19th century |
| Plot Summary | Mysterious drifter Shane comes into the valley, where Joe Starrett, former cowboy and now leader of the homesteaders, invites him to stay on as his hired man. Shane soon becomes a member of the family, which includes Joe's lovely wife Marian, raised back East and a former schoolmarm, and young son Bob. Neighboring rancher Fletcher wants to remove the small community of homesteaders and use their land to expand his cattle business. Shane is forced to fight Chris, a young cowboy in Fletcher's employ. Later, Shane and Joe are forced into a barroom brawl with a group of Fletcher's henchmen. The homesteaders continue to stand firm, however, so Fletcher brings in Stark Wilson, a cold and heartless hired gun. |
| Appeal | Many elements of a classic western: a mysterious, fiercely independent protagonist; a love that may not be pursued; violence caused by evil; and a climactic gunfight. Easily identifiable characters. Lots of action. Mounting tension as the story progresses. A quick read. |
| Notes | Story told in first person from Bob's point of view. Sixteen full-page line drawings by John McCormack serve as illustrations. Graphic violence. |
| Reviewer/Date | Barbera Bass, 6/14/2000 |
| Schaefer, Jack | Shane |
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Publication Date |
1949 |
| Number of Pages | 214 |
| Setting | Old West Wyoming |
| Time Period | 19th century, 1889 |
| Plot Summary | The story of an unknown hero, Shane, who becomes part of the Starrett family. Together Shane and the Starretts try to defeat the selfish landowner, Fletcher. Shane, by his quiet demeanor yet powerful presence becomes both an inspiration to the Starrett's son, Bob, and a legend in the small Wyoming town. |
| Appeal | Romantic hero. Traditional Western tale of good vs. evil. Descriptive Old West setting. |
| Notes | Heavy violence, feminine stereotype, and illustrations by John McCormack. |
| Reviewer/Date | Amy Collen 6/15/00 |
| Schaefer, Jack | Shane |
|
Publication Date |
1949 |
| Number of Pages | 214 |
| Setting | A valley settlement in the Wyoming Territory. |
| Time Period | Summer of 1889 |
| Plot Summary | Into the sparsely populated Wyoming valley where lives the Starrett family, rides a mysterious stranger who immediately stands out as one who is different from the rest. Known only as “Shane,” this stranger’s slow and fluid movements seem to belie a tenseness that lies dormant just beneath the surface. In spite of the shroud of mystery that envelops this stranger, all three of the Starrett’s (Joe, Marion and their young son, Bob) are immediately drawn to him. Each can readily sense the “danger” simmering within Shane’s small but muscular frame, yet each feels totally safe and secure when they are in his presence. Soon Joe has hired Shane to help out on the farm and a bond develops between the two. As the days pass, this bond deepens, while at the same time a feud between a handful of homesteaders who look to Joe as their leader and a ruthless cattle ranger named Fletcher begins to escalate. Shane soon finds himself in the middle of this feud. As always, Shane instinctively senses the job he must do and unleashes his carefully reserved energy with a singular focus to accomplish it. When the job is done, Shane has left the small valley a changed and better place. We come to know Shane through young Bob’s eyes and through his story learn the profound influence one man can make upon a small boy. |
| Appeal | Strong moral themes: good against evil, friendship, loyalty, romance and chivalry. Strong characters. |
| Notes | Story told in 1st person through the narration of an innocent and naïve adolescent. Some negative references to Native Americans, mild violence. Has been made into a movie with same title. |
| Reviewer/Date | Jacquie Foster 6/14/2000 |
| Swarthout, Glendon | The Shootist |
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Publication Date |
1975 |
| Number of Pages | 186 |
| Setting | American West (El Paso, Texas) |
| Time Period | Early 20th Century AD (1901) |
|
Similar Authors/Titles |
Unforgiven, the motion picture, 1992 feature, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, has many themes in common with The Shootist. |
| Plot Summary | John Bernard Books is a famous “shootist”, or gunfighter, one of the last of his kind in the quickly disappearing American frontier. Diagnosed with an inoperable cancer, Books makes his way to El Paso, Texas to live out the rest of his days in solitude. Events conspire against him, however. Beset by intolerable pain, hounded by assassins eager to make a name for themselves by gunning down an ailing legend, and hoping to end his life with dignity, Books decides to strap on his brace of hair-trigger Remingtons one last time. |
| Appeal | A compelling main character who is at once strong, heroic, romantic, and tragic. Enough highly stylized, cinematic gunplay to satisfy the most blood-thirsty aficionado. The relatively late time period (for a Western) provides a fresh, interesting backdrop for the story. |
| Notes | Very graphic violence described in anatomical detail. The book was made into a film of the same name in 1976, starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall; Don Siegel directed. |
| Reviewer/Date | Kyle Samudio 6/15/00 |
| Van Tilberg Clark, Walter | The Ox-Bow Incident |
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Publication Date |
1940 |
| Number of Pages | 217 |
| Setting | Old West; Nevada |
| Time Period | 1800's; 1885 |
| Plot Summary | When Gil and Croft ride into town, they find themselves in the middle of a mob uprising and in a situation that Gil plainly claims "ain't any of our picnic." The cattle rustlers who have been plaguing the town have now murdered a well-liked man in the town. The mob is ready to ride for justice to apprehend these murdering, thieving cattle rustlers instead of waiting for the sheriff to bring them in. This first person narrative follows the actions of the mob from their determined start to their unwillingness to stop the actions they have put into motion despite any appeals to the contrary. |
| Appeal | Old West setting with familiar Western characters, but with an unconventional story line that has the reader wondering how it will end. The moral conflict leaves one thinking about this western long after the story has ended. |
| Notes | Stereotyping of minorities and contains dialect in some of the dialog. Basis of the Henry Fonda movie. |
| Reviewer/Date | Sarah Comfort 6/14/2000 |
| Wister, Owen | The Virginian: a horseman of the plains |
|
Publication Date |
c1902 |
| Number of Pages | 350 |
| Setting | Wyoming; the West |
| Time Period | Late 1800's |
| Plot Summary | A narrative of the American West about a cowboy named "the Virginian" and his relationships with a bad man named Trampas and a schoolmarm, Molly Stark. After Trampas accuses the Virginian of cheating in a card game and insults his ancestry, the Virginian lays his pistol down on the card table and Trampas backs down. But a "public backdown is an unfinished thing." They oppose each other throughout the novel. And the climax is a gunfight between the two. |
| Appeal | Strong characters and excellent depiction of period and atmosphere. Strong convictions about right and wrong and a moral order to our world; supportive of goals like honesty, dignity, goodness and responsibility. Told from an outsiders point of view: "Uncivilized" West of the 1880's vs. East. Classic romance. |
| Notes | A classic of western genre. "The western dialogue, language and characterization results from the context of the times, and is not "intended as an offense to modern sensibilities." Ill. by Charles M. Russell. Short chapters and good length. |
| Reviewer/Date | Susan Cook 06/14/2000 |
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